Darkness Within
by Loki-Thor
Summary: A short fic about the final battle. What will happen depends on you ; Please, check the poll on my profile page.


A huge explosion could be heard in the whole Konoha, ruining the peace that seemed to exist until then. The villagers were panicking, though it wasn't an unusual thing for them. Four years before, for example, the same happened when Otogakure and Sunagakure tried to invade the country. The gennin were trying to keep people joined and take them to the Hokage Monument. A young gennin who had graduated a year or so before had been given this mission. Trying to keep his composure, he approached his former academy's sensei, who was with his actual sensei.

"Iruka-sensei, Ebisu-sensei!" shouted the young shinobi.

"Konohamaru-kun! What are you doing here?" shouted one of the men, the one referred to as Iruka. "You should be supporting the vanguard!"

Konohamaru didn't pay attention to what his former sensei had said. "What's happening? First, we're told that all this shinobi had to do an evacuation exercise, and now, that explosion before."

Iruka was getting angry: "Don't you realize? We're being attacked!"

"What the-? Which country? How many are them? We should be supporting defence teams, we're too many people evacuating."

Iruka hit Konohamaru on the head. "You idiot! Shikamaru-san was the one who thought this defence plan. If we have been sent here, it's because we would be worthless in that combat!"

"Wha-? Are the enemies that strong? Who are them?"

Ebisu, who had been looking after the civilians, turned his head to where the explosion had happened and said with a worried look: "You're wrong, Konohamaru. THE ENEMY is that strong. The village is being attacked by only one person."

Kilometres away, in a clearing on a forest outside the village used sometimes for training, Kakashi kept his Sharingan activated at full power and a short katana in his hands while he fought his opponent: a tall shinobi, covered with a black cloak with white-bordered red clouds... whose face was hidden by a strange spiral-shaped mask. He was moving too fast to use his inter dimensional technique, so this battle would be only based on basic ninja techniques: ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. Kakashi was already tired, but his rival didn't show any tiredness signs. Suddenly, the jounin began to laugh.

"Why are you laughing, idiot? Is it because you have realized that the end of your days is stupidly near, and that it's absurd to keep fighting?" the Akatsuki said.

"No, it isn't. You say you're going to destroy Konoha with an only blow, but truth is you don't seem evil at all with that mask..." Kakashi said.

Behind him, and ready to assist him in battle, were Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Neji, Tenten and Lee. Each one showed an emotion: anger, determination, fear, tiredness and three of them were showing a blank expression.

"It's a pity, but Gai sensei is going to miss out all the fun for being on a mission in the Wind Country! He would have wanted to be here!" Lee said.

"Much better, an idiot less to put up with," Neji whispered Tenten, causing the kunoichi to make a face that was meant to be a smile, but she couldn't smile at the moment. She was one of the people who was taking it worse. Hinata was totally terrorized, and Chouji even had stopped eating.

"Shikamaru, could you explain me again why you have only called us thirteen to fight this guy?" Naruto said, angry because his own sensei couldn't lay a finger on the Akatsuki.

"It's pretty simple... The remaining strong shinobi, as Lee has said, are on a mission too far away, and they would be too late. Furthermore, we lack information about this guy, not even his name, leave alone techniques and abilities. Among all Konoha shinobi, we are the ones with more experience on combat with those guys. Even Lady Hokage hasn't ever fought them, and you should remember one of them killed Jiraiya..." Shikamaru stopped in his explanation to look to Naruto. He hoped he hadn't hurt him. Naruto simply nodded and Shikamaru went on. "Akatsuki have always acted in pairs. If he acts alone, it means he's very strong, he could be much stronger than the ones we have found until now. If we can't do nothing... I sincerely doubt the country would put up with this attack."

"Fuck!" cursed Kiba. "So we're the last damned defence line. Great! Don't worry, guys!"

"Stop barking, doggy!" Naruto shouted from the centre of the group. He had found a very powerful person and he hardly could control himself. Yamato wasn't even nearby, so he couldn't rely on him if Kyuubi's cloak appeared.

"Oh, so my look seems funny to you, huh? I admire you, Hatake Kakashi, I have always admired that cold temper you have always showed," said the invader.

Kakashi was dumbfounded. How could this freak know him? When, in his entire life, had he met such a strange and powerful person?

"If that little evil I look like this, let's see what you think about this..." With this said, the Akatsuki vanished from everyone, even Kakashi's sight. A second later, he reappeared few centimetres away from the jounin.

"H- How you?" that was all Kakashi could say. In that moment, the masked Akatsuki looked the Konoha jounin right in the eyes through the only hole in his mask. The cloaked man closed his eyes and, when he reopened them, his originally black pupils had became red and black. The white-haired shinobi felt like petrifying. He had already gone through that feeling. Now he would enter that horrible world where he would be tortured for a long time, maybe forever.

However, that moment never came. Kakashi fell to the ground, astonished because of that unreleased power. He was half-conscious: he felt what was happening around him, but he couldn't move.

"What has happened to Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, worried. "Could he have been...?" She couldn't end the sentence, she was interrupted by a laughter coming from the battle area. Naruto, Lee and Kiba were ready to fight, but Shikamaru stopped them. He was curious about what was going on.

"My, my..." said the masked one. "It seems like this youngster has pretty much talent, doesn't he? Stopping my Tsukiyomi is not something many people could boast of. In fact, I should congratulate you. You're the first one who achieves it."

"It isn't the first time I fight someone with your abilities… But I must say it took me a little effort… Tobi," answered a voice from the woods.

"Wow, you even know this body's name! Quite impressive… I thought I could rely on Akatsuki…"

"My master taught me many things about you all, but I didn't know you were a Mangekyou user… neither you had Uchiha blood."

"Uchiha blood? Don't dare to insult me, brat. YOU are the one in whose veins run my blood, Uchiha's blood, the blood of the genuine and greatest Uchiha Madara! Now, show me your face, young Uchiha, because, though I already know you, I want to see your dying face when I kill you."

A surprise gasp crossed the young shinobi group. From the woods emerged a human figure, a boy as old as the ones gathered there. He was wearing a white robe with the Uchiha symbol sewed on the back and black trousers, tied with a purple rope. The rope held a big sheathed katana. His eyes were much alike Tobi ones, and his hair was black and spiky. The others were so surprised to even talk, but Naruto and Sakura pronounced for themselves: "S… Sasuke."

"Greatest? You're the one who leaves a trace of black fire wherever he goes. Greatest moron, I'd say," Sasuke insulted and provoked Madara, unsheathing his katana, which emitted an electric flash.

"You are very brave, young Sasuke. Do you feel important because you have killed your brother Itachi? Well, here are some news: he was only a pawn in my world-conquering game. Now, come here, and I'll show you the power… of a king."

Sasuke charged against Tobi with his Chidori focused on the blade, but he simply dodged it and kicked Sasuke in the stomach so strongly that he flew across the clearing. Sakura and Ino shouted in pain and fear. However, that form of Sasuke vanished in a plume of smoke and true Sasuke appeared just behind his rival, who was instantly found with a long blade coming out of his bloody chest. "Checkmate."

"Damn bastard… Have you just led me to the village I promised not to return, just for this?"

Tobi, dying, laughed behind the bloody mask. "You talk too much…"

The dying Tobi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind an unbelieving Sasuke. "_How can I be so fool?_" Sasuke thought, looking around.

"Up here!" Tobi shouted from above. He had jumped and was lifting his mask to reveal his mouth. "**Katon: Gôkakyû no Jutsu!**" An enormous fireball came out Tobi's mouth when he was just centimetres away from Sasuke, who couldn't do anything to avoid it. The Tobi who had released the jutsu also disappeared in a plume of smoke.

Ino was the first who reacted. She jumped to get Sasuke out of the flames. When she returned with him, he had serious burns in the head and upper part of his body. Sakura and Ino started curing him instantly.

"Run…" mumbled Naruto.

"Shit, we have to devise a plan, we can't let him escape," Shikamaru said, going on thinking mode.

"Just run…" Naruto said louder, attracting other people attention. Only Sakura noticed the whiskers on Naruto's cheeks were growing, and got alert.

"What the hell are you talking about, Naruto? You wanna die?" Kiba asked.

"I've… told you… to…"

Sakura stood up, fetched Sasuke and ran deeper into the woods the fastest and farthest she could. "Come on, fast, don't stop!"

The rest of them followed her, except for Sai and Ino, who were caught unaware.

"**RUN!**" shouted Naruto, his voice mixing with a strong roar.

At the moment Naruto shouted that, a chakra explosion flooded the area. The shinobi who got caught in the explosion were sent flying in different directions. Tobi himself had to duck to not be sent flying too. Sai, who was too near to Naruto, flew in different directions himself. He was mutilated by the entire force of the explosion.

Kakashi still was where he were before, even more terrified. When the huge dust cloud that had formed disappeared, Naruto was in the centre of a crater of fifteen metres of radius. But he wasn't Naruto any more… Naruto's shape, twice bigger than usual, stood on all fours, and was covered by a dark mixture of chakra and blood. Five long tails came out the bottom of his back.

"Hum… seems like I've finally found some good rivals here… Long time no see… Kyuubi…"

"**MADARA… UCHIHA…**"

"In spirit, though not in shape."

"**LUCKILY, THE BOY STOPPED HIMSELF JUST ON TIME… IF I HAD BEEN COMPLETELY RELEASED, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH HARDER.**"

"And why do you think it would be easier like this?"

"**BOTH OF US ARE MONSTERS AMONG OUR SPECIES. A CURSED-BLOODED SHINOBI WITH A TERRIFYING POWER AND A HALF-HUMAN, HALF-BIJUU BEING. BUT THAT DUALITY IS WHAT WILL SAVE ME. THIS TIME YOU WON'T CONTROL ME, MADARA. THIS BOY WON'T LET YOU. THIS TIME, I WILL BE THE WINNER.**"

Naruto lifted an arm and a demonic chakra claw was shot against Madara, who dodged it. However, the chakra surrounding Naruto's feet had gone through the floor and burst from just under Tobi's feet. He got hit just under the chin, and his mask broke. At Tobi's face sight, Kakashi realized at last.

"_Someone who knows me… who admires me… cold-tempered… Sharingan… Tobi… Tobi… Tobitobitobitobi…_ It can't be!!!"

Sakura and the others returned carefully to the side of the clearing and put their head out to see what was going on. They had been aware that, when Naruto was like that, he could be more dangerous than their own enemy. Almost all of them had been injured during the short flight they had done.

"Ino," called Sakura on a low voice. "Ino, I need you to look after the injured."

Sakura looked around for Ino. When she found her, her eyes widened in sadness, pain and horror. Ino also was too near to Naruto. She had hit her head on the tree she was lying against, and she had broken her arm, a leg and various ribs. However, she remained conscious, though she was bleeding from her head.

Sakura, feeling the urge of vomiting, treated Ino's head instantly, but she felt unconscious after a while. She needed urgent medical attention. But in Konoha, despite being really near, had nobody in hospitals, all of them had been evacuated. There was only an option left.

"Chouji, come here. You're the less injured. You have to take Ino to Tsunade-sama. She must treat her and cure her. Really urgent. If she has something to say, she'll tell me later… if I come back. Now, go!"

When Chouji left to Konoha, Ino secured in his back, Sakura went on looking after de injured the best she could. The worst case was Ino's, the others had minor injuries and some broken bones, except for Sasuke, seriously burnt, and Lee, who had been stabbed in the leg by a branch. Luckily, he didn't have any broken bones, but he wouldn't be able to fight. When she looked around, she missed somebody. Kakashi was still in the clearing. He was running risks, but nothing could be done for him by the moment, but…

"Where's Sai?"

The ones that were watching the fight pointed different places, but they all pointed to Sai. Sakura couldn't resist it any more and vomited. The others had already done so.

"Oh, yes, it can. Many years ago, I found this dying Uchiha. He had lost an eye, but dying Uchiha are very uncanny to see… I possessed him and now we share body and memories. He was a friend of yours, wasn't he? This… Uchiha Obito."

Kakashi was the one who began laughing now. "What are you laughing at, bastard?"

Kakashi, smiling, said: "Who is the one who talks too much?"

It was then when Tobi noticed he had been surrounded by Naruto copies, each one five-tailed. At that moment, a fierce fight burst between both evil forces . The spectators only could see blurry shadows stopping from time to time in mid-air: the two shinobi moved at the speed of sound, kicking, punching, roaring, trying to release jutsus, kawarimis…

Ten minutes later, Naruto was pretty much beat, but Madara was same as him or worse. Naruto attacked sweeping with his tails, but Madara jumped over them. However, his attention strayed for a moment and true Naruto jumped over him and hit him with a claw, crashing him against the floor. While he held him, the copies Naruto had convoked, totally made from that mixture of chakra and blood, merged in his free hand into a gigantic claw. Then, the possessed shinobi closed his hand and concentrated all that chakra as much as he could, making a human-size fist, but totally black, so black that when you looked at it, you felt completely blind.

"Even if you kill me, nothing will change! I'll find another body! That boy's one, Sasuke, or his descendants'! The only thing you have done is delaying the condemn and destruction of the world! I'll come back! Remember my name: UCHIHA MAD…!"

The Akatsuki never finished what he was saying. The chakra fist stroke directly in Tobi's chest, breaking ribs and column and crushing his heart. That was the end of Uchiha Madara, for the moment, at least.

The Kyuubi turned to Kakashi, trembling in surprise, fear, pain and emotion. He couldn't move to dodge any attack it made. However, he couldn't have imagined what happened then. The Kyuubi possessing Naruto stared him directly into the eyes and said: "**I'M SORRY… ABOUT THAT ALL…**". Then, Naruto came back to normal. He had injuries in his entire body, but they weren't lethal. Sakura ran to them to treat Naruto's injuries, but moments later, she went on treating his sensei. With that done, the Kyuubi's regenerating abilities would do the rest. Everyone was celebrating: they had just beaten an extremely powerful enemy and saved Konoha from a sure annihilation (though Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke had done all the job).

Naruto stood up in silence a moment later. He looked around him. The village wall where they had been fighting had been totally destroyed, like the houses in that street. It seemed like he had been possessed again by Kyuubi. He went on looking around: Tobi was dead, Kakashi had been seriously hurt... blood stains. Blood everywhere. A leg. The shoe... it was like the ones Sai used to wear. A little further, he saw his bag and his katana. Ino wasn't anywhere in sight.

Sakura was crying. They weren't happiness tears, like the others' ones. Sasuke was half dead when he had just returned. Kakashi and him had pushed themselves to extenuation and almost death. Sai had died. Who knew how Ino was doing. That all was more than he could put up with... Quietly, without looking at anyone, without looking back... he left.

But there was somebody who did see him. When he was trying to leave, Hinata got in his way.

"Move, please, Hinata."

"Where are you going to, Naruto-kun?"

"Far from here. I can't stand living in this village any more. I only bring pain to others."

"What are you talking about? You have just beat the possible destructor of the village, I don't think y..."

"SHUT UP!" shouted Naruto, causing Hinata began crying too. "Sorry, I didn't mean... Can't you see? Nothing I do ends up well. I've won, yes, but what did it take? The others' suffering. Sakura is crying, I have mutilated Sai, who knows what I've done to Ino... and now I've hurt you too." While he was talking, tears began to run down his face. "War is despicable. No. I am the despicable. War hasn't done this. It was my doing. Only me and the darkness that lives within me since when I was born. If I can't help people, if I can't make people I value feel happier, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino... yourself. If I can't achieve that, nothing matters. If this is what I've done because of war, there are only two ways left. Keep killing or resigning. So, I, Uzumaki Naruto, resign war and my shinobi title."

"But Naruto, you..." Hinata stopped. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, but she had decided. "You can make people you value feel happy. You have always made me feel fine, amused me, you made me laugh when I thought there was no hope left. I... I love you. I LOVE YOU, NARUTO-KUN!"

Moments of silence followed this. Then, Naruto smiled in pain and happiness. "Thanks, Hinata. Thanks a lot. If I only had known it before... But no. I can't make you feel better any more. Everywhere I go, I bring pain, death, despair. It would be better for all of us if I left."

"Then take me with you. I would go with you to the end of the world. Please, you have always been the one who got me up. I would like to be wind, just to follow you. Don't leave Konoha... Don't leave me... For you, I feel wider than the world and deeper than the sea."

"No, Hinata. I can't take you with me. If you came, I know I'd make you suffer. Please, understand me. I'd like to, but it can't be. You're a very beautiful woman, Hinata. Please, don't be so shy. You are a very good person, very beautiful, intelligent... the girl all guys dream of. But don't be so shy. Be strong against the world. Run away from your own pain, but fight against the other's. Brighten up other people's days with a smile. Do it for me. I promise you everything is going to be alright."

With that done, he embraced Hinata and kissed her in her lips. Deeper in his heart, he didn't want that moment to ever end, but he knew he had to leave. When they separated, he left to the horizon. Without looking back.


End file.
